SEMINAR: Superomniphobic Surfaces: Design & Applications

Abstract:

Recent years have seen significant advances in understanding super-repellent surfaces, i.e., surfaces with extreme repellency to liquids. Surfaces with extreme repellency to water are considered to be superhydrophobic. Surfaces with extreme repellency to virtually any liquid – aqueous or organic; Newtonian or non-Newtonian; with low or high viscosity; with low or high surface tension; acids, bases or solvents; monomers, oligomers or polymers etc. – are considered to be superomniphobic. In this presentation, I will discuss the fundamental physical and chemical principles of designing superomniphobic surfaces. Building on these fundamental principles, I will discuss our recent work on utilizing superomniphobic surfaces for novel applications including inexpensive diagnostics/sensors, anti-thrombotic biomedical implants, and enhanced condensation heat transfer

Biography:

Dr. Arun K. Kota received his B.S. in Chem. Engr. from Andhra Univ., M.S. in Chem. Engr. from Clarkson Univ., and Ph.D. in Mech. Engr. from the Univ. of Maryland. Prior to joining Colorado State Univ. as an Assistant Professor, he was Postdoctoral Fellow in Mat. Sci. & Engr. at the Univ. of Michigan. At Colorado State Univ., he received the NSF Career Award (2018), the George T. Abell Outstanding Early-Career Faculty Award (2018), the Teaching Excellence Award (2016), and the Summer Faculty Fellowship from AFOSR (2016). His work has so far resulted in 6 patents and about 40 publications, which were cited 2600+ times, and were highlighted by Bloomberg TV, NBC News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, Forbes etc.

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
School of Biomedical Engineering
School of Advanced Materials Discovery
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO